Kansas Concludes Non-Conference Slate with Oral Roberts

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball hosts Oral Roberts on Tuesday, Dec. 22, inside Allen Fieldhouse for the final non-conference contest of the 2015-16 campaign. Tuesday night’s game, prior to a short break for the holidays, ends a six-game homestand for the Jayhawks. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will air on ESPN3 and the Jayhawk Radio Network.
 
AROUND THE GYM
Fans in attendance on Tuesday night will receive a free hot dog or popcorn with the purchase of any bottled drink.
 
KANSAS FAST BREAKS

• Kansas has a 12-game winning streak against Oral Roberts intact heading into Tuesday night’s game.
• The Jayhawks own a 28-6 all-time record against Summit League teams.
• KU is 5-5 in non-conference action in 2015-16, but since 1982 owns a 276-116 mark in non-conference action.
• When Brandon Schneider-coached teams are leading with less than five minutes to play, his overall record is 351-12, and 5-0 at Kansas.
• In the month of December, the Jayhawks own an overall mark of 187-83 (.696). During the 2019-10 season, Kansas went 7-0 in the final month of the calendar year.
• Kansas has a record of 410-169 (.709) in Allen Fieldhouse. Over the last five seasons, Kansas has posted a 65-32 mark on its home court. This season, Kansas owns a 4-3 mark at home.
• Sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge has recorded double-figure scoring performances in nine of 10 games so far this season, while freshman Kylee Kopatich has logged double-digits in eight of 10 games this year, including the last seven contests. Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen has posted double-digit scoring efforts on six occasions, including her second double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) of the 2015-16 season against Navy (12/13).  
• Freshman guard Jayde Christopher has dished out three or more assists on five occasions, including a career-high mark of six against Northern Illinois (11/27). 
• The Jayhawks have racked up 14 charges on the season. Aldridge leads the team with half of KU’s charges, with seven to her credit.
• Manning-Allen has swatted away a team-high 19 blocks this season, averaging 1.9 per game. She is on pace to rank among the top-5 blocks for juniors and KU’s top-10 season records. She needs 34 more to crack Kansas’ top-10 season list and 23 to etch her name into the junior record.

 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
The Jayhawks (5-5) look to bounce back against Oral Roberts after falling to Washington State, 66-53, on Sunday, Dec. 20. Kansas held the Cougars’ leading scorer, Borislava Hristova, to just six points after the freshman forward entered the contest averaging 19.4 points per game. However, Washington State tallied 22 points in the final quarter of action, the second-highest mark for a Kansas opponent in a single quarter this season, to pull away from the Jayhawks and seal the victory. The Golden Eagles are the final non-conference matchup for the Jayhawks before opening Big 12 Conference action on Dec. 30 at Oklahoma.
 
Sophomore Lauren Aldridge led the squad in scoring for the fifth time this season with 13 points against Washington State. Aldridge has recorded double figures in nine of 10 games this season and averages 13.9 points per game, a team-high mark that ranks 12th in the Big 12 and second in the conference among underclassmen. She also leads the Jayhawks in free throw percentage (.792).
 
Freshman Kylee Kopatich converted on 7-of-10 free throws on her way to an 11-point game against the Cougars. The Olathe, Kansas native has recorded the most made free throws (26) for the Jayhawks this season, and owns the third-best free throw percentage among freshmen from the Big 12, shooting 74.3 percent from the charity stripe.
 
Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen logged double-digit scoring for the seventh time this season against Washington State with 10 points. Manning-Allen also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, bringing her season total to 72. Manning-Allen’s rebounds per game (7.2) and blocks per game (1.9) both lead the Jayhawks.
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Oral Roberts is 2-9 on the season, and hopes to end an eight-game losing streak in its final non-conference game against the Jayhawks. The Golden Eagles are facing a Big 12 opponent for the second-straight game, after falling to Baylor on Dec. 17, 39-97. Oral Roberts is winless against the Jayhawks at 0-12 all-time, and its last victory against a Big 12 foe came on Dec. 4, 2004, against Oklahoma State.
 
The Golden Eagles, who ended last season with a 18-16 mark and tied for third in the conference, were predicted to place fourth in The Summit League in 2015-16 according to the league’s preseason poll. Oral Roberts returns seven players from last year’s squad, which was invited to the 2015 Women’s Basketball Invitational and advanced to the semifinals.
 
Sophomore forward Faith Ihim is leading the way for the Golden Eagles, averaging 10.6 points per game. Ihim has recorded two double-doubles this season, and averages 6.4 rebounds per contest. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native is shooting 57.8 percent from the field, a team-high average that ranks second in The Summit League.
 
Sophomore guard Bria Pitts, a transfer from Arkansas, is just behind Ihim in scoring, averaging 10.4 points per game. Pitts, another local product of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has reached double-digit scoring in seven contests this season, and is a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line.
 
Through 11 games, Oral Roberts is averaging 57.6 points per game and shooting 28.9 percent from the field. The Golden Eagles are pulling down 33.7 rebounds per game, while logging 10.2 assists and 9.1 steals. Oral Roberts’ 3.6 blocks per game rank second in The Summit League.
 
SERIES BREAKDOWN
Record
Kansas leads the all-time series against Oral Roberts, 12-0.
 
Overview
The series against the Golden Eagles began in 1977 with a 94-61 Jayhawk victory. Kansas has won 12-straight games since the series began. KU is 8-0 against ORU inside Allen Fieldhouse.
 
Last Time Out
Chelsea Gardner posted her seventh-career double-double helping the Jayhawks to an 84-62 win over Oral Roberts on Nov. 11, 2013. Gardner led Kansas with 24 points (7-10), just two points shy of her career-high, and 13 rebounds. Gardner also broke her career-high in free throws made and free throws attempted with 10 and 12, respectively. As a team, Kansas broke the school record in free throws made and free throws attempted by making 41 of 54 shots from the foul line.
 
THIS DAY IN KU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
Record on Dec. 22: 6-3
Kansas women’s basketball will play on the 22nd day of December for the 10th time in program history. The first meeting on Dec. 22 was in 1984 at Wichita State, while the last was at Creighton last season.  Kansas won on the road, 67-56, against Wichita State on Dec. 22, 1984. Vickie Adkins posted 28 points and 10 rebounds to propel the Jayhawks to a win over the Shockers. KU shot 42 percent from the field.
 
TOURNAMENT TESTED
The Jayhawks will face 12 teams this season with postseason experience from the year prior. Familiar Big 12 foes Baylor, Texas, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State all advanced to the 2015 NCAA Tournament. TCU, Kansas State, West Virginia, Texas Southern, St. John’s and Washington State all were invited to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament at the end of last season. Oral Roberts was selected to play in the Women’s Basketball Invitational, advancing to the semifinal before losing a one-point game to eventual tournament champion, University of Louisiana Lafayette. Kansas currently holds a 1-2 record this season against teams that played in the postseason a year ago. The Jayhawks’ next 11 games will be against teams with postseason experience from 2014-15. 
 
UP NEXT
Kansas begins its 2016 Big 12 Conference lineup on the road following the Holiday the break. The Jayhawks open their Big 12 slate at Oklahoma on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m., inside the Lloyd Noble Center. The game will air on FSSW+ and the Jayhawk IMG Sports Radio Network.
 
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